Predicting the Future of a Cashless Society: An Analysis of the Role of QRIS in Shaping the Financial Behavior of the Digital Generation An Islamic Economics Perspective

Abstract

The transformation of the digital payment system through the Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS) has accelerated the emergence of a cashless society in Indonesia, particularly among Generation Z. The convenience and speed of digital transactions, on the other hand, have the potential to affect self-control in financial management through the cashless effect that is, a reduction in psychological sensitivity to spending due to the absence of physical money. This study aims to analyze the role of QRIS in shaping the financial behavior of the digital generation and to examine its impact from the perspectives of Islamic Economics and Maqashid al-Shari’ah. The study employs a descriptive-analytical qualitative approach using library research methods. Secondary data were obtained from scientific literature, Bank Indonesia reports, and payment system data for the 2020–2025 period, and were then analyzed by integrating findings from previous studies on the cashless effect, impulsive consumption, and financial behavior with DSN-MUI Fatwa No. 116/DSN-MUI/IX/2017 on Sharia Electronic Money. The study’s results indicate that the expansion of QRIS provides benefits in the form of efficiency, transparency, security, and increased financial inclusion; however, the ease of transactions may also encourage impulsive consumption by reducing the pain of paying. This phenomenon has the potential to conflict with Islamic consumption principles particularly the prohibitions against israf and tabzir and threatens the principle of Hifz al-Mal. The study also identified the moral licensing paradox, wherein the use of Sharia-labeled services or ecosystems can provide moral justification for consumptive behavior if religious values have not yet developed into intrinsic self-control. Therefore, there is a need to strengthen behavior-based Sharia financial literacy, implement Islamic Ethical Nudges, establish digital budget limits, and integrate micro-philanthropy features into the QRIS ecosystem. The novelty of this research lies in the integration of perspectives on the cashless effect, the transcendence of money, impulsive consumption behavior, and Maqashid al-Shari’ah to formulate a digital payment ecosystem model that is not only technologically efficient but also oriented toward the public good and financial sustainability.